An Overview of the Intelligence Community

The U.S. Intelligence Community is a large, complex structure, organized and operated pursuant to a multitude of laws, executive orders, policies, and directives. Aspects of its organization and operation are discussed in detail within the body of this report. The purpose of the following discussion is to provide an overall, admittedly simplistic, picture of the Community and how it functions, and to serve as a primer for those unfamiliar with the subject.

The essential role of intelligence is not difficult to understand.
It is to provide timely, relevant information to U.S. policymakers,
decisionmakers, and warfighters. Accomplishing this mission involves
tasking, collecting, processing, analyzing, and disseminating
intelligence, commonly referred to as the "intelligence cycle."

Part One: The Intelligence Cycle

The intelligence cycle drives the day-to-day activities of the
Intelligence Community. In the cycle, the consumer of intelligence
sets forth a need for information that is relayed to the requirements
prioritization committees of the Intelligence Community who then
lay the validated requirement on the respective intelligence collection
agencies. The collected intelligence information is processed,
analyzed, and reported simultaneously to the customer and to the
Community's all-source analyst who combine it with other intelligence
and open-source information to produce a finished intelligence
report or assessment of the data. The customer has the option
of providing feedback on the degree to which his need has been
met and asking for further analysis or additional collection,
if required.

Collection and Analysis

I. What are Consumer Needs?

The consumer requests information from intelligence agencies that
is not otherwise available and that bears on decisions that he
or she expects to confront in the course of their duties. In some
cases, the request is simple and is made to satisfy an immediate
requirement: "tell me about a foreign leader or a foreign
airfield". In other cases, consumer needs are stated in documents
that provide overall guidance to the Intelligence Community. For
example, on March 5, 1995, President Clinton issued a Presidential
Decision Directive (PDD) which established priorities for intelligence
collection and analysis of specific issues. Previous administrations
have issued similar documents, which, together with the specific
requirements levied by users within the departments and agencies
of the Executive branch, serve as guidance for the Director of
Central Intelligence and the members of the Intelligence Community.
These requirements can be adjusted on an as needed basis to cope
with unexpected developments.

II. Collection and the Collectors

Upon receiving tasking from consumers, the Intelligence Community
seeks to fulfill the requirements. There are four primary collection
"disciplines" that the Intelligence Community utilizes.

Human source intelligence, or HUMINT, is the operational
use of individuals who know or have access to sensitive information
that the Intelligence Community deems important to its mission.
The Central Intelligence Agency and the Defense HUMINT Service,
an element of the Defense Intelligence Agency, are the primary
collectors of HUMINT.

Signals intelligence, or SIGINT, consists of information
obtained from intercepted communications, radars, or data transmissions.
The National Security Agency is the primary collector. Within
the SIGINT discipline, there are subcategories of communications
intelligence, electronic intelligence (essentially emanations
from radars), and foreign instrumentation signals intelligence
(such as automated data from space vehicles).

Imagery, or IMINT, is the use of space-based, aerial, and
ground-based systems to take electro-optical, radar, or infrared
images. The Central Imagery Office coordinates imagery collection
and processing.

Measurement and Signature Intelligence, or MASINT, is the
collection of technically derived data that describes distinctive
characteristics of a specific event such as a nuclear explosion.
The Defense Intelligence Agency and the military services are
the primary MASINT collectors.

Central Intelligence Agency: The CIA engages in collection
across all four disciplines through two of its Directorates-the
Directorate of Operations and the Directorate of Science and Technology.

The Directorate of Operations has the primary responsibility
for clandestine human collection of foreign intelligence. It also
collects foreign intelligence from individuals and organizations
who reside in the United States.

The Directorate of Science and Technology (DS&T)
provides support to CIA and the Intelligence Community in the
collection, processing, and exploitation of intelligence. This
includes research, development, acquisition, and operation of
technical systems. For open source and imagery exploitation, the
DS&T provides services of common concern through its Foreign
Broadcast Information Service and the National Photographic Interpretation
Center. For HUMINT, the DS&T provides a wide range of technical
support, including agent communications.

Department of Defense Collectors:

National Security Agency (NSA): NSA has responsibility
for the establishment and operation of a unified organization
for the conduct of signals intelligence activities, and for carrying-out
collection, processing, analysis, and reporting of signals intelligence
activities for national foreign intelligence purposes in accordance
with guidance from the Director of Central Intelligence. Its Director
reports to the Secretary of Defense.

Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA): DIA's principal
mission is not collection, but the provision of substantive intelligence
support to the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, the commanders of the unified commands, and some
non-DoD agencies. DIA also coordinates and undertakes MASINT collection,
as well as administers the Defense HUMINT Service and the Defense
Attache System.

The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO): The NRO
is responsible for research and development, acquisition, and
operation of space borne collection systems which are used by
the intelligence collection agencies for signals intelligence,
imagery, and other collection. The NRO is an organization of the
Department of Defense, whose Director is also Assistant Secretary
of the Air Force for Space. The Secretary of Defense exercises
ultimate responsibility for management and operation of the NRO
in concert with the Director of Central Intelligence who establishes
collection priorities and requirements.

The Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office (DARO):
An element within the Office of the Secretary of Defense,
the DARO is responsible for research, development and acquisition
of defense airborne reconnaissance capabilities, including manned
and unmanned aerial vehicles. In contrast to the NRO, DARO is
not responsible for the operation of airborne reconnaissance capabilities,
which are the province of the military departments or unified
commands.

Central Imagery Office (CIO): The CIO coordinates
imagery collection across the Intelligence Community and promulgates
uniform standards and policy to govern imagery exploitation and
dissemination. [Note: A new organization, the National Imagery
and Mapping Agency, has been proposed to consolidate most imagery
and mapping organizations, including the CIO, by October 1, 1996.]

The Military Services: Each military service undertakes
collection, analysis, and reporting activities in each of the
four collection disciplines in response to national, departmental,
theater and tactical requirements. Some collection activities
are undertaken at the departmental level; others, by elements
assigned to service or joint commands.

Army Intelligence is headed by the Deputy Chief of Staff
for Intelligence who has overall responsibility for the management
of collection by Army organizations. This responsibility is exercised
through the US Army Intelligence and Security Command.

Navy Intelligence is headed by the Director of Naval Intelligence,
who commands the Office of Naval Intelligence, the principal operating
arm. The Naval Security Group collects signals intelligence for
the fleet and for national consumers as part of the national signals
intelligence system.

Air Force Intelligence is headed by the Assistant Chief
of Staff, Intelligence. The chief operating element is the Air
Intelligence Agency.

Marine Corps Intelligence is headed by the Director of
Intelligence who is the Commandant's principal staff officer and
functional manager for intelligence matters.

III. Analysis and the Analysts

Once intelligence has been collected, it is typically processed,
analyzed, and reported by analysts at the collecting agency who
determine its relevance to existing validated requirements. This
"raw" or "current" intelligence is then reported
electronically or in printed form to the customers and to the
all-source analytic organizations in the Intelligence Community.
The all-source intelligence organizations, principally CIA and
DIA, meld these reports with other information available from
other intelligence and open sources and provide analytic statements,
assessments, and reports on the significance of the information.
Such all-source analyses may be performed on topics of long term
interest and broad scope, which are called "estimates,"or
they may pertain to ongoing or transient events of immediate interest
to policymakers.

The National Intelligence Council (NIC): The NIC
is an analytical organization under the Director of Central Intelligence
which has responsibility for producing longterm estimative intelligence.
The NIC presently comprises twelve National Intelligence Officers,
who are senior analysts assigned specific issues or regions to
cover, and are responsible for the coordination and preparation
of estimates within their respective areas. All estimates prepared
by the NIC are sent to the National Foreign Intelligence Board
(composed of representatives of the Intelligence Community agencies)
for approval prior to being issued.

The Central Intelligence Agency's Directorate of Intelligence
(DI): The DI is the all-source analytical arm of the
CIA, producing current intelligence and longer studies, including
national estimates tasked by the National Intelligence Council,
for U.S. policymakers and decisionmakers. Organized into functional
and geographic offices, the DI reports on political, military
and economic developments.

The Department of State's Bureau of Intelligence and Research
(INR): INR provides intelligence support to the Secretary
of State and other Department of State officials. The head of
INR is an Assistant Secretary of State who serves as the Secretary's
principal adviser on intelligence issues. INR is organized into
offices covering regional geographic areas and specific issues.
Its principal publication is the daily "Secretary's Morning
Summary" which is provided to the Secretary wherever he may
be on the globe.

Department of Defense Analytical Organizations:

The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA): Intelligence
analysis is the principal responsibility of the DIA which is charged
with providing intelligence support to the Secretary of Defense
and his staff, the Organization of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
the unified commands, and the military departments on general
military topics. Analytical support is coordinated and performed
principally by the National Military Intelligence Production Center.
DIA also has responsibility for ensuring that the intelligence
analysis performed by other elements of the Department of Defense
does not duplicate what is being performed by other elements of
DoD or by the CIA.

The Military Services: The four military services have
specific analytical organizations which produce intelligence for
their respective services, the unified commands and DIA.

Army: The Army's analytical arm is the National Ground
Intelligence Center which produces all-source analysis on the
capabilities, vulnerabilities, and threats posed by or projected
for, foreign ground and security forces.

Navy: The Navy's analytical arm is the National Maritime
Intelligence Center of the Office of Naval Intelligence. Its responsibilities
include analysis of the design and construction of foreign surface
ships, collection and analysis of acoustic information on foreign
sensor systems, ocean surveillance systems, submarine platforms,
and undersea weapons systems.

Air Force: The Air Force's analytical organization is the
National Air Intelligence Center which produces finished intelligence
assessments of aerospace related issues.

Marine Corps: The Marine Corps' analytical organization
is the Marine Corps Intelligence Activity which provides threat
assessments and estimates used for acquisition decisions and for
planning military operations.

The Nine Unified Commands: Each of the nine unified commands-
United States Atlantic Command (ACOM), United States
Central Command (CENTCOM), United States European Command
(EUCOM), United States Pacific Command (PACOM), United
States Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), United States Space
Command (SPACECOM), United States Special Operations Command
(SOCOM), United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM)
and United States Transportation Command (TRANSCOM)-has
a Joint Intelligence Center which, among other things, produces
finished intelligence analysis for its Commander-in-Chief (CINC)
and the forces subordinate to the CINC.

The Department of Energy:DOE's Office of Intelligence
overtly collects information and produces classified and unclassified
analyses of foreign energy and technology developments, particularly
those concerning nuclear proliferation and weapons of mass destruction.
The Office works for the Secretary of Energy as well as for the
Government as a whole. DOE also participates in the production
of national estimates in its area of expertise.

The Department of Treasury: Treasury's Office of Intelligence
Support provides specialized analyses to the Secretary and his
or her staff on international economic, financial and security
affairs, and participates in national estimates on these topics.

IV. Intelligence Products and Dissemination

Intelligence products are conveyed in many forms: raw message
traffic, daily electronic and printed publications, video conferences,
briefings, longterm studies, secure telephone calls, and personal
meetings with individual analysts. Increasingly, intelligence
products are being stored in computer data banks that allow consumers
to retrieve ("pull") them electronically as needed.
The Intelligence Community constantly strives to disseminate its
products in a manner and in a form that best suits its consumers.
Where necessary, it will tailor support to meet the needs of individual
users.

V. Counterintelligence

Federal Bureau of Investigation:The FBI's National
Security Division is the Government's primary counterintelligence
organization. It provides support to the Intelligence Community
through investigations, monitoring, and analyses of foreign counterintelligence
threats, and by conducting operations against hostile intelligence
services operating within the United States. The FBI also has
principal responsibility for investigating terrorist activities
within the United States.

Other Departments and Agencies: A number of other departments
and agencies maintain counterintelligence elements to protect
their own operations and activities, to include the CIA, the Army,
the Navy, the Air Force, and the Department of Energy.

VI. Covert Action

Covert action is an activity of the U.S. Government designed to
influence governments, events, organizations, or persons in support
of U.S. foreign policy in a manner that is not attributable to
the United States. Covert actions may involve political, economic,
propaganda, or paramilitary activities. U.S. law requires that
all covert actions be approved by the President in a written "finding"
and that notification be given to the two intelligence committees
of the Congress. Once approved, covert actions are typically carried
out by the CIA's Directorate of Operations with such assistance
as may be necessary from the Department of Defense or other members
of the Intelligence Community as may be directed by the President.

Part Two: Managing the Community

I. The Director of Central Intelligence

Under the National Security Act of 1947, the DCI serves three
principal functions. He is the principal intelligence adviser
to the President, the head of the Intelligence Community, and
the head of the CIA. As head of the Intelligence Community, the
DCI is charged with directing and coordinating the national foreign
intelligence activities of the U.S. Government, but exercises
direct line authority over only the CIA and the staff organizations
which support him in his non-CIA functions: the National Intelligence
Council, which prepares national estimates; and the Community
Management Staff, which assists the DCI in his Community functions.
These latter functions include the preparation of the annual budget
for the National Foreign Intelligence Program, evaluation of the
Community's performance, the development of longterm plans, and
the coordination of Community-wide programs.

In addition, the DCI chairs two advisory boards, composed of representatives
of Intelligence Community agencies:

The National Foreign Intelligence Board (NFIB): The NFIB
is responsible for approving all National Intelligence Estimates,
for coordinating interagency intelligence exchanges and the numerous
bilateral relationships with foreign nations that share intelligence
with the United States, and for developing policy for the protection
of intelligence sources and methods.

The Intelligence Community Executive Committee (IC/EXCOM):
The IC/EXCOM serves as the DCI's principal senior advisory group
on national intelligence policy and resource issues. It advises
the DCI on issues pertaining to the budget, setting requirements
and priorities, evaluation, and intelligence policy formulation
and implementation. The IC/EXCOM is chaired by the DCI, and includes
the Deputy DCI, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the Vice Chairman,
Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Directors of NSA, NRO, and CIO, and
DIA, the Assistant Secretary of State for Intelligence and Research,
the Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, the Executive
Directors for Intelligence Community Affairs and for the CIA,
as well as others with key responsibilities in the intelligence
area, including the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command,
Control, Communications, and Intelligence, and the Under Secretary
of Defense for Acquisitions and Technology.

II. Managing Collection

As a general proposition, requirements validation and prioritization
are managed according to collection discipline (e.g. SIGINT, HUMINT,
IMINT, etc.) with each discipline having its own structure for
translating the validated requirements into collection activities
in its area. Mechanisms also exist to ensure that information
about possible targets for collection is shared across disciplines.

SIGINT

The SIGINT activities conducted by NSA, CIA, the military services
and other elements of the Government are collectively known as
the United States SIGINT System. The Director of NSA, as designated
manager for all national signals intelligence activities, is responsible
to the DCI for receiving and meeting national SIGINT requirements
and for submitting budgetary requirements for the SIGINT system.

HUMINT

The DCI provides overall direction for the collection of human
source intelligence by elements of the Intelligence Community
to ensure that the risks to the United States and those involved
in such collection are minimized. In 1992, the National HUMINT
Requirements Tasking Center was created to coordinate both overt
and clandestine HUMINT collection across the Intelligence Community.
The Deputy Director of Operations at the CIA is the manager for
HUMINT.

IMINT

The Central Imagery Office (CIO) is charged with ensuring responsive
imagery support (IMINT) to the Intelligence Community, the Department
of Defense, the National Security Council, and other departments
and agencies. CIO has created the United States Imagery System
(USIS), modeled after the SIGINT system, to encourage a cooperative
effort among the collectors, producers and users of imagery. CIO
also administers a special committee that meets daily to determine
the tasking for national imagery collection systems. It, too,
has the ability to make adjustments to cover unexpected developments.

MASINT

The Defense Intelligence Agency's Central Measurements and Signature
Intelligence Office (CMO) is the designated collection manager
of MASINT. The CMO tasks the elements of the Government that collect
MASINT to fulfill national and tactical intelligence requirements.

III. Managing Intelligence Analysis

Contrasted with collection, a minimal effort is made to centrally
manage intelligence analysis. While the DCI maintains an interagency
committee that monitors production in the Intelligence Community,
departments and agencies who maintain analytical capabilities
are generally left to manage their own. For the most part, the
analysis performed by one agency is shared with the others and
an awareness of what is being produced is maintained on an informal
basis between analysts.

Within DoD, where separate analytical capabilities are maintained
within DIA, the military departments, and the unified commands,
DIA does coordinate intelligence production among DoD components,
attempting to prevent duplication and overlap in the analysis
being produced.

Part Three: the Intelligence Budget

U.S. expenditures for intelligence are allocated among three distinct
programs or aggregations: the National Foreign Intelligence Program
(NFIP), the Joint Military Intelligence Program (JMIP) and the
Tactical Intelligence and Related Activities aggregation (TIARA).
The NFIP is controlled by the Director of Central Intelligence.
JMIP and TIARA are controlled by the Secretary of Defense.

National Foreign Intelligence Program: The NFIP consists
of the budgets for the elements of the Intelligence Community
that are responsible for collecting and analyzing intelligence
to primarily fulfill national-level requirements. The agencies
within the Intelligence Community that are part of the NFIP are:
the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency,
the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Reconnaissance Office,
the Central Imagery Office, and the intelligence elements of the
military services, the Departments of State, Justice, Energy and
Treasury. Also funded by the NFIP are the National Intelligence
Council, the Community Management Staff, and several DCI centers.
The Director of Central Intelligence provides guidance for the
development of the component parts of the program, reviews and
approves budget submissions by these component parts, and ultimately
approves the NFIP budget and presents it to the President and
the Congress.

Joint Military Intelligence Program: Under the authority
of the Secretary of Defense, the JMIP encompasses military intelligence
activities that support Defense-wide objectives as opposed to
the requirements of a single military service. Intelligence produced
by these activities may also support national requirements. Although
intelligence assets funded in the JMIP may belong to a particular
service, they are used to support joint service operations in
each theater. The JMIP consists of four Defense programs-a signals
intelligence program, an imagery program, a mapping, charting,
and geodesy program, and the Defense General Intelligence and
Applications program. The Deputy Secretary of Defense serves as
program manager for the JMIP, assisted by the Assistant Secretary
of Defense for Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence.

Tactical Intelligence And Related Activities: Also under
the authority of the Secretary of Defense, TIARA is an aggregation
of intelligence activities funded by each of the military services
to satisfy their specific tactical requirements. Since TIARA assets
serve the individual services, there is no single program manager.
The services annually submit a list of the activities they intend
to fund within this aggregation to the Assistant Secretary of
Defense for Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence
who attempts to ensure their consistency with intelligence programs
being funded in JMIP and NFIP.

I. The Intelligence Budget -A Frame of Reference

Each year, the President-in consultation with the Secretary of
Defense, the Assistant to the President for National Security
Affairs and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget-determines
the overall budget request for the Department of Defense based
on national security needs and projected levels of inflation.

Within the level established for Defense, most of the funding
for NFIP, and all of the funding for JMIP and TIARA, are included.
(A small percentage of the NFIP which funds intelligence for non-Defense
agencies is not included in the Defense budget.) The amount to
be allocated to NFIP activities is decided by of the Secretary
of Defense and the DCI. The amount to be allocated to JMIP is
determined by the Secretary of Defense, and the amounts to be
allocated to TIARA are determined by each of the military departments
separately, subject to the overall authority of the Secretary
of Defense.

Each of these amounts is classified and, thus, cannot be found
in clearly identifiable line items in the DoD budget. Rather,
they are scattered among various line items not identified to
the intelligence function per se.

II. The Budget Formulation Process

Once the top line spending level for the NFIP has been determined,
the DCI issues guidance to the NFIP program managers to formulate
budgets for their intelligence programs that will fulfill the
national intelligence needs of the Government. The proposals are
then developed and forwarded to the DCI's Community Management
Staff (CMS) and the Office of Management and Budget. The CMS assures
that the budgets reflect the DCI's priorities and those of intelligence
customers. OMB determines if the total funding is in line with
the President's priorities, and if individual programs within
the NFIP are being funded at appropriate levels.

Although the DCI is responsible for formulating the NFIP budget,
it is in fact a cooperative effort with the Secretary of Defense.
Since most of the NFIP program managers head agencies within the
Department of Defense, their budgets will also reflect Defense
requirements and priorities. The DCI's Community Management Staff
also must assess what Defense intends to fund through JMIP and
TIARA in order to arrive at the national program. In recent years,
this coordination between national and defense programs has been
particularly strong. Once the budget for the NFIP has been approved
by the DCI, it is sent to the President and the Congress.

Where JMIP and TIARA are concerned, the budget formulation process
occurs within the Department of Defense. The Assistant Secretary
of Defense for Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence
plays the principal support role in packaging JMIP programs, whereas
the military services build the TIARA program submissions. These
two aggregations along with the Defense portion of the NFIP are
reviewed by the Expanded Defense Resources Board, co-chaired by
the Deputy Secretary of Defense and by the DCI, with senior representatives
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other senior producers and consumers
of intelligence as members. Upon completion of the review, the
JMIP and TIARA budget submissions are sent to the Secretary of
Defense for final approval and forwarding to the President.

III. Congressional Authorization and Appropriations Process

Upon completion, the three intelligence budgets are included in
the President's budget which is normally submitted to Congress
in February each year for authorization and appropriations. The
Senate and House intelligence committees authorize appropriations
for the NFIP budget. The House intelligence committee also has
jurisdiction over JMIP and TIARA, whereas in the Senate authorization
rests with the Armed Services Committee. The Senate intelligence
committee does, however, make formal recommendations to the Armed
Services Committee with respect to both programs.

Appropriations for most of the NFIP and all of the JMIP and TIARA
are contained in the annual Defense appropriation bill. The appropriations
for non-Defense intelligence elements are contained in the appropriation
bill pertaining to their respective department or agency.

After hearings in the spring, authorization and appropriation
bills normally reach the floor of each House of Congress in the
summer, and reach the President in the fall.

Part Four: Oversight and Accountability

Like other government agencies, agencies within the Intelligence
Community are subject to the laws of the United States (including
the treaty obligations of the United States), the policies of
the President, and their own internal directives. To ensure compliance
with these laws and policies, intelligence agencies are subjected
to oversight by elements within their own organizations as well
as by external elements. The external elements include oversight
mechanisms both in the Congress and in the Executive branch.

I. Internal Mechanisms

Each element of the Intelligence Community is subject to the jurisdiction
of an Inspector General, either within their own organization
or within their parent organization.

The CIA's Inspector General is appointed by the President and
confirmed by the Senate and is responsible for investigating any
alleged improprieties or program mismanagement within the CIA.
The CIA Inspector General submits semiannual reports of his activities
to the two congressional intelligence committees and must report
directly to these committees under certain circumstances.

The Department of Defense also has an Inspector General created
by statute who reports to the Secretary of Defense and whose jurisdiction
extends to all of the intelligence elements of the Department
of Defense. In addition, each such element (e.g. NSA, CIO, DIA,
NRO) has its own non-statutory Inspector General, appointed by
the head of the Agency, who performs oversight.

Non-Defense intelligence elements similarly are subject to oversight
by independent Inspectors General. For example, the Bureau of
Intelligence and Research at the Department of State is subject
to oversight by the State Department Inspector General, and the
FBI's National Security Division, by the FBI Inspector General.

The General Counsels of intelligence agencies also perform an
oversight function, reviewing proposed and ongoing activities
to ensure their compliance with law and policy.

II. External Mechanisms

The Intelligence Community is also subject to external oversight
from the Executive and Legislative branches. Within the Executive,
the Intelligence Oversight Board, a standing committee of the
President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, exercises overall
oversight of the Community's activities, including the responsibility
to oversee the functioning of the agencies' internal oversight
mechanisms. In addition, the Office of Management and Budget plays
a role in ensuring consistency with the President's program. Within
the Congress, principal oversight responsibility rests with the
two intelligence committees, but other committees occasionally
become involved in an oversight role.

President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (PFIAB)
: The PFIAB is an entity within the Executive Office of
the President formed "to assess the quality, quantity, and
adequacy" of intelligence collection, analysis, counterintelligence,
and other activities of the Intelligence Community. The PFIAB
reports directly to the President, and provides recommendations
for actions to improve and enhance the performance of intelligence
efforts. It also examines issues raised by the President or the
Director of Central Intelligence and can make recommendations
directly to the DCI. Membership of the PFIAB consists of not more
that 16 persons appointed by the President.

President's Intelligence Oversight Board (IOB):Once
a separate organization under the President, the IOB was made
a standing committee of the PFIAB in 1993. The IOB is composed
of four members of the PFIAB appointed by the Chairman of the
PFIAB. The IOB conducts independent oversight investigations as
required and reviews the oversight practices and procedures of
the inspectors general and general counsels of intelligence agencies.

Office of Management and Budget (OMB): OMB is part
of the Executive Office of the President. It reviews intelligence
budgets in light of presidential policies and priorities, clears
proposed testimony, and approves draft intelligence legislation
for submission to Congress.

The Congress

Principal oversight responsibility rests with the two intelligence
committees. By law, the President must ensure that these two committees
are kept "fully and currently" informed of the activities
of the Intelligence Community, including any "significant
anticipated intelligence activities." Notice is also required
to be provided to both committees of all covert action programs
approved by the President as well as all "significant intelligence
failures."

Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI):The
membership of the SSCI has ranged from 13 to 17, with the majority
party in Congress having one more member than the minority. Members
of the SSCI serve 8-year terms. In addition to its role in annually
authorizing appropriations for intelligence activities, the SSCI
carries out oversight investigations and inquiries as required.
It also handles presidential nominations referred to the Senate
for the positions of DCI, Deputy DCI, and Inspector General of
CIA, and reviews treaties referred to the Senate for ratification
as necessary to determine the ability of the Intelligence Community
to verify the provisions of the treaty under consideration.

House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (HPSCI)
: The membership of the HPSCI is currently set at 19 members
and is proportional to the partisan makeup of the entire House
of Representatives. Members may be appointed for terms up to eight
years. Like its Senate counterpart, the HPSCI conducts oversight
investigations and inquiries in addition to processing the annual
authorization of appropriations for intelligence.

Other Committees: In addition to the intelligence committees,
other congressional committees occasionally become involved in
oversight matters by virtue of their overlapping jurisdictions
and responsibilities. The armed services committees of each House,
for example, exercise concurrent jurisdiction over DoD intelligence
activities; and the judiciary committees in each House exercise
concurrent jurisdiction over FBI intelligence activities.